100 lessons from the land of a Creative Blogger… on my 100th Blog post!

PART 1

Firstly apologies, I honestly don’t know where April went! Since the children have gone back to school, it has felt very busy, getting used to new routines, back to the kids activities and finally getting out, out, with friends into lovely, local beer gardens! Plus, we have a lot of birthdays in April!

So, it feels a long time since I was last here. However, there has been a lot going on in the background too with The CCC which is exciting but more on that later (in part 2)!

But first as you will have seen, this is my 100^th Blog in just over 2 years on the subject of Creativity and Wellbeing, and I am thrilled to bits that I have never run out of things to say on this fascinating subject! So I thought I would do things a bit differently and create a top 100 list of things I’ve either learned, read, listened to and the many people I have been inspired by which has got me to where I am today.

BUT, this post was getting so long that I’ve decided to split it into 2, over 2 weeks, so that it doesn’t take you all day to read!

So, throughout these 2 Blogs, I’ll include links to previous ones related to that particular topic, so that you can read further on it should you wish to – a kind of celebration of all that I’ve covered so far!

I’ll split the categories into 10 x 10, (5 today and 5 next week) so you can pick up and read whenever at your leisure and easily refer back to the key things you are interested in.

So here we go…

1 – Top 10 wellness benefits of finding your creative mojo

• Doing something creative is an act of much needed self-care, something just for you with no other responsibilities, other than to enjoy yourself!
• It enables you to drift into the ‘Flow’ state and stop that whirring brain, it’s a form of active meditation and is great for mental wellness and focussing your thoughts on just the activity in front of you
• The act of creating gives you a sense of purpose, there’s an end goal, you have something tangible to show for your efforts
• Which leads to a sense of achievement that you completed something potentially challenging or a newly learned skill, building pride in your work
• It gives you confidence, especially when starting out and unsure of what to try, the more you do it, the more your self-confidence grows
• It opens you up to a whole new world of people who enjoy doing the same thing – the vast and interesting creative community. It gives you a sense of belonging to a team of people with similar interests and fosters new relationships
• It enables you to learn new skills and become more adventurous. Once you’ve worked out one creative skill, it’s more likely that you will go on to try other new creative activities. It’s all about being creatively curious!
• It can lead to a whole new way of life, provide opportunities for connection by joining creative hobby groups, or may even lead you to starting your own creative business
• You can pass your skills on, sharing what you’ve learned for the benefit of others perhaps through workshops of your own, increasing self-worth, purpose and creating that sense of ‘giving something back’ to your community
• Physically it lowers your heart rate and cortisol levels (stress hormone) and releases all the happy hormones such as endorphins, serotonin, making you feel physically calm and content, as well as mentally.

Now you know how good it is for you, don’t just take my word for it…there’s a whole range of experts out there, who understand how magical creative living is too.

2 – Top 10 Creative, Creative Business and Wellbeing Podcasts that will inspire you.

Podcasts have become an important habit in my life that never fail to feed my motivation and creative energy. See them as mini pep talks to keep you going, and especially good for dog walks! Below is a good, varied mix of creative artists, creative business coaches, health and wellbeing and interior design too who inspire me each week with their deep and wonderful conversations.

• The Creative Ways Podcast – Emma Isaccs from @emmaisaccsdesign – I was lucky enough to be interviewed by Emma last week for the podcast, you can catch the episode here!
• Elevate Your Curiosity Podcast – Joanne Griffin (trend expert)
• Conversations of Inspiration – Holly Tucker
• Dream and Do – Nicola Rae Wickham of @alifemoreinspired
• The Great Indoors – Sophie Robinson and Kate Watson Smythe
• Creative Women International – Philly Page
• Braveheart’s Rising – Lisa Pascoe
• Feel Better, Live More – Dr Rangan Chaterjee
• On Brand With – Deborah Ogden
• Dream and Do – Nicky Raby

There are many more great podcasts I listen to; you can check out more on the Curious Cave page or read more about them here.

3 – The 10 thieves of creativity

I have gone into some of the below in detail before on this Blog, but I will also do another post on this, because these are all huge subjects in themselves. But if you recognise yourself in any of the below traits or thoughts, you are not alone, and there is rarely a perfect road to creative enlightenment without one of these bugbears showing up along the way!

The good news is they can all be pushed aside, ploughed through or kicked into the gutter, with some positive mindset and self-awareness work.

The undeniable truth is your thoughts, are just thoughts.

They are not facts, so it’s all about how you respond to what your pesky mind is telling you, and I know that is easier said than done sometimes, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE, so if you can accept that, you are half-way there and I’ll be discussing this more in future so watch this space.

• Procrastination – The act of putting things off / distracting yourself with other less important tasks
• Comparisonitis – Comparing yourself with others, believing them to be ‘doing better’ than you
• Perfectionism – an endless quest for things to be perfect, rather than done is good enough – which is why I preach Practice makes progress NOT perfection!
• What if I fail / embarrass myself – fear of failure and humiliation about the end result or doing things ‘wrong’
• Imposter Syndrome – not understanding how you’ve got to where you are today, believing it to be a fluke or that you will get found out eventually!
• I haven’t got time, I’m too busy! – Lack of good, solid planning, and that’s coming from someone who never thought they had the time, I promise!
• I haven’t got money for materials – basic materials cost little, or you could solve this issue by swapping with other creatives.
• I’m just scared to try – Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real – there are effective techniques to get around this to stop it holding you back
• I feel like creative time is selfish – simple, NO IT ISN’T! By feeding your own needs and embracing some creative self-care it will serve you AND give you more energy to deal with ‘life’ responsibilities
• I don’t know where to begin – Then let me help you – click on the LIVES here for ideas!

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• 4 – 10 Ways to prepare well for Creative Time
• Book it in, make the time – planning it in means it’s more likely to happen, just as you would with physical exercise, this is your mental self-care progamme!
• Find a comfortable space – somewhere relaxing, not in front of a pile of washing up that will just distract you
• This is YOUR time – Make sure your lovely family, know that you are busy and are not to be interrupted, nothing destroys creative time more than children yelling ‘Mum, where are my trainers?!’
• Set the scene further if you wish, to enhance the experience, play some chilled music, light a candle, whatever gets you in the mood and acts like a creative trigger
• What materials do you have? – Even if you only have a pen and a piece of paper, that is the beauty of creativity, you can start with the most basic materials.
• Prepare your materials – If painting for example, get everything ready, clean your brushes if they need it, have everything to hand so you don’t have to keep breaking off  
• Don’t worry about mess – ‘Craftermath’ as I like to call it is the sign of a good time! The ‘mess’ can be cleaned up later, not during the process
• Drinks and snacks – Creating can be thirsty work, you can get ‘lost’ long beyond a mealtime, so have drinks and snacks on hand so you don’t have to stop, but do get up and stretch every now and again to avoid aching!
• Look for inspiration / prompts – if you find staring at a blank page difficult, go in fully motivated and inspired with pictures from magazines, your own photos, a previous sketch you want to expand upon, or some writing prompts (you can find plenty on Pinterest or via Writers-online)
• Ok, everything is in place and you are ready, so Just start…and repeat – consistent creative time is the ultimate goal to feeling all those great benefits above!

5 -10 things you could try right now!

• Make a nature display – collect pinecones, leaves, feathers, twigs and find an old glass bottle or vase for a rustic display, check out @silverpebble2 for ideas
• Write a short story using prompts or write a letter to someone who needs it via Give A Few Words – click for details
• Cook / Bake something new, if you’re like me you’ll have plenty recipes still to try in a cookbook you haven’t opened in a while!
• Create a 3D picture – with things collected from around the house, let your imagination run wild, see @5ftinf for some colourful  inspiration
• Start a photography project – such as taking interesting doorways in your local town, like @seaside_kate does
• Do some gardening – it’s basically like colouring in in a different way, creating a masterpiece in your garden for you to marvel at every day
• Make up a dance routine – if that’s your thing or of course follow one on TikTok!
• Make a video about something you feel passionate about – what puts fire in your belly? Use your voice and values as a means to be creative
• Create a vision board – the ultimate creative way to spend an afternoon, that will have a positive affect long after you’ve completed it!
• Design an art piece incorporating your Word of the Year, so you can place it somewhere visible and it have a more prominent affect.

So, this is my first fifty learnings, tips, and processes and I hope you’ve enjoyed a little insight into the last few years of blogging experience and research!

Next week, I will cover my top 10:

• Favourite creative books
• Favourite creative things I love to do
• Favourite creative entrepreneurs / hobbyists
• Creative Ambitions I still have
• And one other, yet to be decided – feel free to suggest anything you’d like to know in the comments!

Until next time, I hope you’ve enjoyed the Bank Holiday weekend and not long to go now before more restrictions are lifted! Bring. It. On! Have a great week!

Juliet, The Curious Creative x

Ps Main image and the other ones from the cabin are by Claire Wood for Prima Magazine where I was lucky enough to be featured in their issue this month! In shops now!

PPs I currently have a few spaces in my creative writing groups, click on the link to find out more.